


Sleepless Night

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 07:22:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11527362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Willow visits her boyfriend when neither of them can sleep. Willow belongs to thestarstablegirl on tumblr.





	Sleepless Night

Willow was surprised at how late it had gotten. She’d been at the disco, dancing with her friends, until the disco closed and the security guard ushered them out with the help of his adorable little puppy. Now, she looked around in the sudden darkness and quiet. Her friends had returned home, wanting to go to bed, but Willow wasn’t tired yet. So, instead, she rode her horse over to the stable area, hoping to find James. Her boyfriend usually stayed up late, wanting to get as much money as he could. But this time, he wasn’t standing in his usual spot over by the cannons.

“James?” Willow called, slightly concerned. There was no answer, but there was a light on in the inn. Willow couldn’t see any strange horses in the stables when she put her horse away, either, so it was possible that her boyfriend was up in his little apartment above the inn. She entered the inn, walked up the stairs, and knocked on the door of James’ little flat.

“Coming!” James called from deeper within the apartment, and then Willow heard him walking over to his front door.

“Hi, James,” said Willow when he opened the door. “What are you up to?”

“Oh, nothing, just… playing some video games,” said James. 

“Can I join?” asked Willow. “I know it’s late but I’m not tired yet.”

“Heh, so neither of us can sleep, then,” said James. “Alright, come on in. I think I have some multiplayer games.”

“Why can’t you sleep?” asked Willow, worried for her boyfriend.

“I’ve just been having nightmares,” said James with a shrug. “But it’s okay. At least I’m warm, and there are plenty of video games to play.” Willow smiled and nodded, following James into the apartment.

James’ living room looked like a typical boy’s one, with video game consoles, controls, and games scattered all over the place. There was some attempt at a video game rack beside the TV, but there were only a few in there.

“Wow, you have a lot of games,” said Willow.

“Yeah, I save up and buy them or ask my sister or brothers to buy them for me,” said James. “Half-price, of course, or at an even more reduced cost.”

“Smart,” said Willow.

“Thanks,” said James, grinning at her. “So, uh, have a look at the games and decide which one you want to play. I’ll just finish this level.”

While James sat down on the couch and resumed his game, Willow looked through the games scattered on the floor and placed neatly in the rack. Part of her wanted to put the games back in the rack, but the other part of her wanted to spend more time with her boyfriend.

“This one,” said Willow, picking up a horse-riding game after discovering that it was, indeed, multiplayer.

“Oh, that,” said James. “Closest I’ve ever come to riding a horse.”

“You’ve never ridden a horse before?” asked Willow.

“No,” said James, shaking his head. “They’re, uh… too tall for me.” He blushed.

“A pony might be better,” said Willow.

“Ugh, those little demons,” said James with a shudder. “No thanks.”

“What’s wrong with ponies?” asked Willow, smiling as she sat on the couch and waited for James to finish his game.

“My sister has a pony,” said James. “And he’s pure evil.”

“Oh dear,” said Willow with a laugh. “I’m sure we’ll find a good horse for you. There are mounting blocks, or you could use a fence to help you mount.”

“And would you teach me?” asked James, glancing away from the screen for a moment to look at his girlfriend.

“Mm-hm,” said Willow. She winced as James’ character was slain on the screen, but her boyfriend just sighed and quit the game.

“I can beat that level tomorrow,” said James, changing the games over. “Huh, I thought I got rid of this game.”

“Why would you get rid of it?” asked Willow, finding the right controllers.

“It gave me nightmares,” said James. “I was thinking of selling it, actually.”

“It looks cool,” said Willow as the loading screen appeared. The writing _‘Zombie Horse Pole Bending Apocalypse’_ appeared on the screen with blood dripping from the letters, accompanied by the sounds of demonic horses neighing.

“Yeah, it’s cool until the zombies and horses appear in your dreams,” said James with a shudder. “Maybe I shouldn’t have played it before bed. Or fallen asleep playing it.”

“That can’t have helped,” said Willow. She pressed the right button, and the character creation screen appeared. Willow made her character look like herself, and then had a hard time deciding on what her horse should look like. James, however, chose his fairly quickly, clearly having a favourite.

 _“Welcome to the apocalypse,”_ the voice-over said on the main screen. _“The year is 4042. The world has ended. Only zombies remain, and the only animals left are demon horses, twisted by the remains of the world. Legend has it that one rider will rise above the rest and win the Zombie Horse Pole Bending Apocalypse Competition. Will you be that rider?”_

“Yes I will,” said James.

“Not if I win first,” said Willow with a smile.

“You’re on,” said James.

James won the first race, unsurprisingly, and Willow gave him a kiss to congratulate him on winning.

They played for hours, and Willow was yawning by the time the final race loaded. James was also quiet, leaning against his girlfriend. Willow was absolutely delighted to win the race, and only realised afterwards that it was because James had fallen asleep. She kissed him on the forehead and carefully moved so as not to wake him. James made a sleepy noise and hugged a pillow, and Willow put a blanket over him and smiled. Then, she yawned and headed into James’ bedroom to sleep.


End file.
